New gTLD Experience With 1and1.com

Well, looks like the future is upon us, as we get closer to the roll-out of new gTLDs. After listening to the hub-bub at TRAFFIC about the new gTLDs, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to strategically pre-order some names in the new gTLDs. In fact, speaking to Frank Schilling for a period of time about the things to come is what convinced me to preorder some names. Granted, he may have a biased opinion, but the fact is that they are coming to a theatre near you, whether you like it or not.

The question is which ones will do well and which ones will fail. Which ones will be around for the long haul and can you pre-register names that may actually have value to somebody some day?

Ray Hackney’s post earlier this week at TheArtOfTheName.com, entitled Forget Team Schilling and Team Schwartz and Focus on Team You, is an excellent article. While dot com is my primary focus, I’d hate to sit by and miss the boat, as I did in the past – see this post.

Therefore, I did some pre-registering through 1and1.com and received this e-mail earlier this week:Dear Vincent Jacques,We have some good news for you – you’ll soon be able to order the following domain(s):******.SINGLES

In the coming days, we’ll send you an e-mail containing more information and detailed conditions. You’ll then have the opportunity to complete your order of the domain(s) listed above.

You can check the current status* of your favorite domains and get additional information by clicking on the links above. We look forward to providing you with regular updates about your pre-reserved domains!Today I received this e-mail:

Dear Vincent Jacques,We’re happy to inform you that your pre-reservation has given you the opportunity to complete your order of the following domain(s) within the next 7 days*******.SINGLESPlease Note: Your reservation will automatically be canceled after 7 days if you do not complete the order of the domain(s). At this point, the domain(s) will be offered to other interested parties on our waiting list.Anyway, the cost to complete the order is a whopping $49.95, which may or may not be the annual renewal fee as well, which seems like a lot to carry year to year, especially if you’re investing in multiple names. I’m not sure if I’ll go through with the order yet, although this is a good name and I think I likely will. With a seven day window, it’s now decision time!I know many domainers that did do some pre-registrations, but were all mostly on the fence as to whether or not they’d actually register them when the time came. As we all are, I’m really looking forward to see how these new gTLDs change the landscape of the internet, as well as the domainer investor market. Having been around since 8-tracks tapes and watched the addition of the VCR, the home computer, the Walkman, CD player and everything that has come since, it really is pretty exciting to be a part of this ever changing landscape. As Frank and Monte Cahn, I think WE are lucky Mo-Fos for having a clue as to what’s coming.

No matter your approach, there is a lot of new money coming into the space and we all have an opportunity to capitalize on it if you make the right decisions and as Ray said, Focus on Team You!

About Vincent Jacques

Vincent L. Jacques is a Professional Engineer, with over 20 years of experience in the environmental engineering field, primarily associated with environmental due diligence and remediation. Over the years, Vincent has started and sold several environmental companies and currently serves as the New England Regional Manager for Bock and Clark Environmental, LLC.

Vincent owns and operates VinsDomains.com, a portfolio of boutique domain names for sale or for lease.

Comments

Pre-registration is a waste of time, in fact it may work against you.
And paying money to do it? There’s one born every minute.
Save your cash, buy when the registry goes live, and then only if you can’t live without that particular domain, it might take 10 years for it to mature.